The museum of Anthropology and History of Rivas is located in an old, colonial farm house - one of the oldest houses in the city actually - that happened to be the first house that was taken by the North American filibuster William Walker, when he tried to take control over Nicaragua.

Nowadays the building functions as a museum that has interesting expositions in several rooms. The first room is the largest one and here you can find exhibits of pre-Columbian pottery that was recovered or dug up during expeditions. Most of it comes from Ometepe or other mainly coastal zones of the area. There are also mammoth bones on display that were found in the area close to Lake Nicaragua. There is also a sample that includes pretty much all of the minerals that are present in Nicaragua.

In another room full of paintings the most representative legends of Rivas are depicted. There are also samples of stamps that have circulated in the country.

And there is more that is historically interesting about this building. At this site, at the end of the 19th century, an old newspaper was published under the named of 'El Termómetro' (the thermometer). Here they published a poem named 'Lagrimas', by the - at that time - relatively unknown, young poet Rubén Darío. This was one of the first publications of the imposing oeuvre of this famous Nicaraguan poet.

The museum was founded in 1975. There is always a guide available to show visitors around in the museum. The opening hours are Monday-Saturday from 9AM until noon, and then from 2PM until 5PM. The entrance fee is C$10 for Nicaraguans (with discounts for groups of students), or U$1 for foreigners.